VW has temporarily halted development of the electric ID. Golf
Image: VW (illustrative)
Volkswagen has temporarily suspended development work on the upcoming electric Golf. This was announced by David Powels, CFO of Volkswagen Brand and Core Brand Group, during the release of the nine-month financial results. Work on the “ID. Golf” is set to resume only once the necessary investments are financially secured.
The background is the strained profitability of Volkswagen’s core brand. In the first nine months of 2026, VW’s automotive division’s operating profit dropped from 1.48 billion euros to 813 million euros, while its profit margin fell from 2.3% to 1.3%. Alone in the third quarter, the brand recorded an operating loss of 182 million euros. Factors contributing to this situation included higher sales incentives, restructuring costs, the planned sale of Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH, and the suspension of production of the electric SUV ID.4 in Chattanooga, USA.
The main plant in Wolfsburg, where the all-electric Golf is set to be produced in the future, is under particular cost pressure. According to VW brand chief Thomas Schäfer in an internal interview reported by Reuters, the facility is about 300 million euros short of its cost reduction targets for 2026. In contrast, the plants in Emden and Zwickau are on track to meet their factory cost reduction goals. Schäfer stated that Volkswagen currently cannot afford the development work on the ID. Golf financially and intends to resume it as soon as possible after further cost cuts are achieved.
The ID. Golf is intended to be based on the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), which Volkswagen has developed as a new, all-electric vehicle architecture with a unified software architecture. Production will take place at the main Wolfsburg plant, with joint production planning involving another electric model, the T-Roc. According to current plans, the ID. Golf is expected to hit the market in the early 2030s. No details regarding battery size, range, charging speed, or prices have been released yet.
The reorganization of production in Wolfsburg was decided at the end of 2024 as part of the “Volkswagen’s Future” agreement. Under this plan, the manufacturing of conventionally powered Golfs and Golf Variant models is set to be moved to Puebla, Mexico, starting in 2027. In Wolfsburg, production of the battery-powered compact car ID.3 and the Cupra sibling model Born is planned, along with the future manufacturing of new electric models based on the SSP platform.
Volkswagen’s works council told Reuters that the current development pause does not necessarily have to lead to a delay in the ID. Golf, and that lost time can be made up. The decision comes at a time when demand for electric vehicles is rising in Germany, alongside increased economic pressure on Volkswagen. According to the company, high fuel prices and government incentives are contributing to the growing demand for battery-electric vehicles. Meanwhile, more profitable internal combustion engine models continue to generate higher profits than comparable electric cars.
Did you spot any errors? Please let us know
by email
about them. Thank you!
Also interesting
About the author
Thomas Langenbucher is an expert in electromobility with professional experience in the automotive industry and finance sector. Since 2011, he has been covering electric vehicles, sustainable technologies, and mobility solutions for ecomento.de. Learn more.
Reader interactions